Baylor, Texas A&M to meet in NCAA regional finals

DALLAS — At last, after two weeks of anxiety and hand-wringing from Waco to College Station, Big 12 rivals Baylor and Texas A&M will play Tuesday night for the right to advance to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Both teams won in the Sweet 16 round on Sunday, advancing to the finals of the Dallas Regional.

The Elite Eight game is set for Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the American Airlines Center. The winner will advance to the Final Four, scheduled April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis.

In Sunday’s Sweet 16 doubleheader, staged at the home arena of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, A&M advanced with a resounding 79-38 victory over Georgia, and then Baylor followed by ousting scrappy Wisconsin-Green Bay, 86-76.

Perhaps not surprisingly, coaches from both schools expressed differing views of having to meet a conference rival one step away from the biggest showcase in women’s basketball.

“I don’t like playing them again,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said, “because I think it takes away the opportunity for two Big 12 teams to have made it to the Final Four.”

The issue is complicated by the outcome of the season series, 3-0 in favor of Baylor.

In that regard, should the committee have given second-seeded A&M (30-5) essentially the same break as No. 1 seed Baylor (34-2) on in-state travel?

Mulkey didn’t mention any fairness issue on Sunday night after her team held off Wisconsin-Green Bay.

She merely said that it will be “sad” that either Baylor or Texas A&M will go home without a chance to play for an NCAA title.

“It’s going to be sad for whoever loses,” she said, “because we lose an opportunity, in my opinion, to have two teams (from the Big 12) that should be in the Final Four this year.”

Texas A&M coach Gary Blair admitted to feeling “a lot of relief” at reaching the regional final after so much was made of the potential for another Baylor-A&M matchup.

Then he threw in a dig at Mulkey.

“A lot of relief,” Blair said, “because instead of griping about being in this region, we embraced it.”

For the record, Mulkey’s only public gripe was with the NCAA selection committee for placing the two Big 12 schools in the same region.

But that didn’t stop Blair from spinning the controversy his way.

He said he wants to revel in the chance to play in the hometown of four players on his team.

“I think it’s very special that we get to play in front of their high school friends and coaches and relatives,” Blair said.